90 pct. of Koreans say turn Ulleung, Dokdo into nat`l park

Ninety percent of Koreans say Ulleung Island and the Dokdo islets should be designated a national sea park, a survey found Friday.

Rep. Kim Eul-dong of the minor conservative party Future Hope Alliance conducted the phone survey jointly with the Dokdo Network and Dokdo Safeguard of 1,000 adults nationwide Nov. 6-8. The respondents were just about unanimous (89.9 percent) in agreeing on the "designation of Ulleung Island and Dokdo as a national park."

The reasons they cited include defend sovereignty (51.15 percent), protect the natural environment (26.4 percent), and develop the area into a world-class tourist designation (22.3 percent). Just 8 percent objected to designation as a national park.

On what authorities need to consider in designating Ulleung and Dokdo as a national park, the responses included, “Measures should be beefed up to protect nature and prevent the rich natural environment from being damaged further (58.4 percent), and “minimize damage to nearby residents caused by development restrictions and regulations.”

dnsp@donga.com